Primary schoolchildren acutely aware of their level of ‘smartness’ compared to others - study

Primary school pupils are acutely aware of how they compare to others in their performance at school and prefer being placed in groups of children with mixed abilities that do not lead to negative labelling.

The findings are contained in the latest results from the landmark study, Children’s School Lives, undertaken by UCD’s school of education, which is following 4,000 children across almost 200 schools.

The report captures children and teachers’ experiences of approaches to teaching and in learning, or “pedagogical practices”, between 2019 and 2022.

The report found that most teachers grouped children by ability, especially for literacy and maths among younger age groups, in an effort to meet the wide range of children’s needs. Typically, this involved higher, middle or lower ability groups with children who then moved to mixed groups for the remaining school day.

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Teachers had, however, different views on implementing ability grouping, sensitive to the impact on children in terms of self-esteem and labelling.

Many said they were mindful of any labelling of children and concerned that they would attend to the learning needs of all children, including those achieving well.

“For the children, if they’re of an age and they’re conscious of it, it can be demoralising... and also it really doesn’t help anybody, you know, especially in the weaker groups because there’s nobody to pull them along,” said one fifth class teacher.

Case study interviews with children highlighted their awareness of how they compared to their peers in different subject areas and their level of “smartness”.

“I do first class work. But I do second class reading,” said one first class pupil. A fifth class pupil said: “Oh, for reading, I think they put me at the top and then maths maybe in the middle.”

Older children in fifth class noted the benefits to their learning of being placed in smaller groups but were sensitive to negative labelling.

They commented on the benefits of mixed ability grouping for peer learning and the importance of having some choice in the group to which they were assigned.

As children moved into senior classes, ability grouping became less common. Where it was used, it was implemented for most of the day, typically with children who required consistent additional support.

Overall, the report found younger children at primary level were especially positive about going to school although children’s liking of school tended to decline slightly as they get older.

While they value the importance of school and friends, they are less enthusiastic about the increased level of effort, homework and concentration required as they move to senior classes. The report found that children were especially positive about school once they fully reopened following the pandemic and in-person classes resumed.

In general, girls tended to be more positive about going to school than boys.

Children of all ages recognise the purpose of school in terms of the acquisition of skills and growing competencies that make them “smart”.

Most children surveyed feel listened to when they express how they feel at school. However, pupils do not experience inclusion in decision-making as often or as much as they would like around areas like breaktimes, uniforms, homework or learning.

The study also found that national data highlights growing diversity in the classroom, with “clustering” evident in Deis or schools in disadvantaged areas, with higher concentrations of children of immigrant backgrounds.

Teachers noted how classes differed based on the gender and ethnic profiles of students, as well as additional support needs.